Dancing with the Stars
by Iced Perfection
Summary: POST KH2. They have only one objective: power. Strangers arrive in Twilight Town and make it known they want something from Sora: the Keyblade. But there’s someone who’s not going to give him up without a fight. AUish, SxK, OCx? R&R?
1. Chapter 1

Date: 28-10-07

Notes: It's been ages since writing a KH story but I think my obsession with it has proved enough for me to get into their heads a bit so I can write their characters. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but please bear with me and I'll make it clearer as the story progresses.

And this has nothing to do with the show, _Dancing with the Stars_.

Names may seem weird, but they are essential to the story (on my part) and are Sanskrit, mostly. The exception is Ven, for whom I could not find a corresponding name.

Tenses switch back and forth in **this chapter only**. Don't worry—it won't be this confusing next time, I swear.

AUish, I think, since it all takes place in Twilight Town—I like it so much better than Destiny Islands. Everyone is a year older, and focuses mainly on Sora/Kairi/Riku, and some Organization members may appear, though I'm not sure yet. Pretty sure of having Namine back, and Roxas too.

Pairings are very uncertain; suggestions? I'm not sure if I want to write SoraKairi for those fans or a RikuSora one for _those_ fans. I'm very open; please help me decide.

And one more thing: the little blue button at the bottom of the story? Yeah. That's your _friend_.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Open up your wings and soar into the sky_

_While following countless lights_

_More than any distant star that brightly glitters_

_My memories with you are beautiful_

* * *

"Kairi…do you ever think where we'd be if we hadn't beaten them?" 

"What do you mean?"

Everything had ended. There were no more wars, no more fighting; only peace ruled over the quiet town of twilight. Ever since the Keybearer had returned to the world of light there had been a strange absence of Heartless and Nobodies—but it was a _good_ strange. Nobody minded not having them around, and things were finally back to the way they should have been.

"Like, if I'd never confronted Xemnas…would we all still be here?"

"I don't think we would—at least, not like this."

"Where would we be, then?"

"Apart, probably…but we'd always be together in our hearts. I know that."

A smile. "You're right. I should have known you'd say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Back…like things were before the worlds became connected. Now, with the links destroyed, things could finally be at peace. Though they missed their friends dearly, they knew it was for the better and they could always think of them to remember the times together. That was sufficient enough for them.

"It's a compliment, Kairi. It means you're always thinking of us—that's what friends are for, right?"

"I guess so." She laughs. "But…Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"…Don't ever leave us again."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

They link pinkies.

"_Promise."_

To restore peace to the worlds they had to give something up—their friends. But they weren't gone forever. They stayed in their hearts, memories, never-fading as they continued their lives after everything was over.

"Are you sure he's here?"

"Why else would we feel it?"

"You've been wrong before."

"I realize that. Do not remind me again."

"What, you mean of the time when you—"

"Enough." The stern voice quiets the other immediately.

"Yes." His voice is soft now, knowing the consequences.

Elsewhere, a shadow would grow in the distance—a looming cloud reaching toward the peace and threatening to destroy everything the people had come to know of warless times. They wanted that power—the power that held everything together, and they knew what they had to do to get it.

"Send for your sister. We have little time left before it closes off completely. We have _one chance._ Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Then do not fail me."

"I won't."

"You had better not."

They knew they would have to hurt others—thought it was not desirable, they would stop at very little to get it. Do not think they are heartless—or Nobodies, for that matter—but are seeking personal gain for a different reason, not for ruling over the worlds or plunging the world into darkness.

A flash of light—he is gone. The older figure is left standing alone, staring out over the growing waves. They are restless—wanting power. Just like them. But now was not the time. A sigh.

"I can only hope we succeed this time."

"You're being too hard on yourself. Don't worry. I promise: things won't turn out the way they did last time."

Another sigh. "I hope you are right."

"Please. Come back—we can all leave together."

"Is everyone else ready?"

"We've been ready for years. All we need now is you." She is silent before opening her mouth again, though closes it, rethinking her words. "Ahjit—please."

"Fine." His coat swishes as he turns his back to the water, thoughts broken as he follows her down the cliff to where eleven other figures wait, eager expressions on many of their faces. They want something and are more than willing to rush into it. Others are more rational, wanting to take it slowly.

They were lost—trapped, here, on earth, with little reason to live other than the hope of regaining their powers to return to where they belonged.

He comes to the head of the circle, scanning each of them, looking for any traces of unwillingness or betrayal. His words resonate in the empty field as, one by one, they disappear—vanishing to their destination where they hope to attain their prize.

"_We will not fail."_

* * *

See, there's that blue button, right below here. Remember: it's your _friend_. :D_  
__  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Date: 29-10-07 (two days 'til Halloween!)

Notes: So I think it'll be easier writing a SoraKairi story rather than RikuSora, so…yeah. That's what it'll be. SK. (Haha, that's my ex's initial and mine, like we used to write ours. xD;;; …anyway. -cough-)

And I'll admit it: I stole the club's name from an album that has all this techno on it. And I'm a techno junkie. I'll admit that, too.

There will be several of my characters appearing (thirteen of 'em) but only a few are actually focused on; many are just side characters barely essential to the plot, but essential enough I need them in there.

Comments, criticisms, reviews ALWAYS welcome. :3

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

"You're telling me you still haven't finished your summer reading?"

"Kairi, just…_agh!_" Sora gave a cry of frustration as he threw the assigned book across the room. It was nearing the end of summer once more, and now that his journey had ended, it was time for him to come back to earth. Rather, school. "I can't take it!"

"What's wrong?" Sora looked up from the drink Kairi had slid in front of him in hopes it would calm him down. Riku had joined them sometime in the past couple minutes—Sora didn't know when he had come in. The silver-haired teen picked up the book and leafed through it. "Summer reading getting you down?" He smirked. Sora narrowed his eyes, glaring at the older boy who was exempt from the assignment.

"Just because you're going to college doesn't mean you can laugh about the fact I still have to do this stupid stuff."

Riku laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant I remembered when I had to read this a couple years back." His eyes had a distant, vacant look for a moment before he looked back at Sora. "I thought it was really boring, too, until I finished it. Just give it a few more chapters." He tossed the book to Sora, the paperback landing on the table inches from knocking the drink over that sat in front of the brunette, untouched.

"Sora, I said I'd help you with the assignment, but you have to actually _read_ the book first." Kairi gave an exasperated sigh. Sora could be frustrating to work with—especially when it came to English. Thankfully, she had enough patience for both of them and could find ways around the narrow approaches the teacher used to things, allowing both to finish their work without the frustration that usually ensued.

Sora sighed as well, picking the book up again. "Can't someone just tell me what happens?"

"Sora," Kairi said in a warning tone. "You're going to have to take a test on this, too. And you know I can't let you cheat on that."

"I know, I know."

"Oh, hey, did you guys hear about the new place that just opened up—" Kairi shot a glare at Riku, who quickly shut his mouth and exited the room. "Just trying to lighten things up a bit!" he called from the other room.

"You don't need any distractions right now," Kairi said, standing up and shutting the curtains, hiding the scene of their friends practicing combat in the Sandlot. "Especially anything outside of this room." She sat back down across from Sora.

"I wish I could concentrate, but…it's just so hard." He opened the book to where he had been, wishing he could be a million other places than where he was, reading. The words swam together, not making any sense. He knew the words, yes, but could make no sense of them, and nothing had meaning anymore.

_Might as well get this over with…_he said to himself for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He'd been telling himself to just do it and get it done, but nothing worked.

By sunset, he had finished over half the book—a great accomplishment for Sora. Setting the book down, he looked over at Kairi, who was busy writing the outline for the assignment that went with the reading.

He opened his mouth to speak, to tell her he'd finish tomorrow, but was cut short by the sound of music blasting somewhere in the town. It swept through the Sandlot, up to the room where he and Kairi were, permeating every building in the area. The floor vibrated slightly, causing Kairi to look up in surprise and confusion.

"What is _that_?" she asked, disapproving immediately. She didn't like loud music, typically. Soon, the music lowered to a dull roar, though the vibrations remained and could be felt throughout town.

"Music," Sora supplied, sarcasm drowning the single word. "I was just about to ask you. Maybe it was what Riku had mentioned?" He remembered Riku had said something about a new place opening up, though didn't get to hear what.

As if he knew what Sora was thinking, Riku reentered the room, an excited look crossing his face. "Hey, guys—that's the place I was talking about. Roxas just called and said it's _awesome_. Wanna come? I'm leaving now."

Kairi glanced at Sora's discarded book. "Well…" she began, seeing that he had at least made _some_ progress.

"Come on, Kairi. We've got a couple weeks left."

She sighed, defeated. "Fine."

* * *

"What _is_ this place?" 

The three friends stood outside, waiting in line, to gain entrance to what seemed like the place to be that night—it was a big hit from what the trio could see. The popularity it gained was instant, and none could figure out how it came to be so known in such a short time period after opening.

"Welcome…to_ Forbidden Paradise._."

"Forbidden Paradise…?" Kairi muttered as they stepped into the main room.

"Would you like anything to drink?" A girl had come up behind them, holding several strangely-shaped glasses balanced on a small tray. She had bright green hair that stood out in the dark room, glowing slightly. Sora noticed that, above them, there were ultraviolet lights that shone softly down, illuminating light colors that people wore, their clothing glowing in the dark. The girl was wearing all black, zippers and patches of green cloth dotting the clothing, though, giving her a cyber feel while at the same time emitting a punk-like air, a strange combination they had never seen before.

None of them were particularly thirsty at the time, turning down the offer. Riku seemed to know where he was and what he was doing—soon, he had slipped away from the other two, weaving in and out of the dancing teens and making his way toward the side of the stage at the back of the club.

"Relax. We're here to have fun. You two look a little too tense."

From beneath the pulsing lights stepped a girl their age, smiling, holding a drink similar to the ones they had seen earlier. A shock of blue hair framed her face, pulled back by a clip and bangs hiding her right eye.

"You…work here?" Kairi guessed, judging from her outfit, which was almost like the girl's who had offered them drinks.

She nodded. "Pretty neat, huh? He's been itching to open the place for _years_, but the last town we were in was too conservative, and wouldn't even lease us a building." Looking around, she began bobbing her head to the beat, swaying slightly, looking expectantly at Kairi and Sora. "What, you guys don't dance? Don't tell me that. Everyone can dance."

"It's not that. We're waiting for a friend to return."

"Oh!" Her eyes widened. "Are you guys Sora and Kairi?" she asked, pointing at each in turn. They nodded. She grinned.

"Why?"

"You're Riku's friends, aren't you?"

"How do you know him?"

"It's a secret," she said, winking and raising a finger to her lips. Kairi noticed a ring on her hand—left, ring finger. Was she…engaged? She seemed a bit young…

"The name's Meena," she said, raising her drink slightly in greeting. She bolted the last bit down, sitting the empty glass on a tray passing by. She stuck her tongue out at Kairi in a teasing way. "You need to loosen up. You've got such a serious look on your face. Dance a bit." Pulling two sticks out of her pocket, she snapped them, their glow intensifying as she shook them.

"What're those?"

"Glowsticks. You've never seen them?" she said, slightly shocked at how little they knew about raves.

Sora and Kairi shook their heads.

Meena smiled. "You're in for a treat, then." She wrapped the glowsticks' strings around her hands, letting them drop and swing gently before heading up to the stage, where she was joined by another girl and two guys, all wearing similar outfits to hers.

"What kind of treat…?" Sora asked, voice lowering to a whisper as the music faded, dancers stopping their movements with the music's end, all raising their eyes to see what was going on.

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, save for the small glowsticks that each of the four held—red, yellow, blue, and green. A few shrieks rose from the crowd—shocked, surprised ones—but there were soon dim lights barely illuminating the stage that supplied a small source momentarily. They pulsed slowly for a few seconds, music soon fading in through the speakers.

It was a gentle, catchy rhythm, electronic, and had a mysterious feeling to it. Once more the stage went completely dark, and the glowsticks—under the will of the dancers—began to move, spinning into complex patterns and weaves that completely amazed Sora and Kairi, both watching in amazement at the performance they were seeing. The performers swung their glowsticks in time with the music, synchronized with both each other and the rhythm that was slowly beating below them. In the dark, it looked like the glowsticks were heavenly lights swirling about the stage in some sporadic manner, and that is precisely what the dancers wanted it to be like.

The music came to an interlude, and the lights flashed back on, glowsticks suddenly gone. The dancers were bathed in a soft blue light. Meena was at the front, the other three forming a triangle behind her. A mike was visible, affixed on her ear. Her mouth opened, and words began flowing from her mouth that blending with the music, creating the illusion that it wasn't really _her_ singing.

A shock of silver hair caught Sora's eye—it was Riku, eyes gazing up at Meena unblinking. It made Sora wonder even more when they had met, and under what circumstances.

She had to admit—Meena was a good dancer. But then, she was probably trained to do this, and had practiced time and again to perfect it. But somehow Kairi couldn't help but feel a small pang of jealousy—like she wanted to dance that way, too, and show that she was special as well. She saw Sora, standing next to her, never take his eyes off the stage. She rolled her eyes, knowing what—who, rather—he was staring at.

"I'd guess she's taken already," Kairi whispered into Sora's ear, making him jump slightly.

"By who?"

She shrugged. "She's wearing a ring on her left ring finger. That's all I know."

Sora shook his head. "Why would I care?" He turned his attention back to the dancers, finding his gaze wandering to the girl dancing behind Meena. She was taller, out of the center of attention, and danced as if she never wanted that attention, but would dance despite that.

Sighing, Kairi began heading toward the door.

"Kairi! We can't leave yet!" The music had ended, the performers stepping off the stage and wandering into the crowd, music from before resuming as they mingled with the other dancers and added their moves to the others'. Sora protested against Kairi's movement, and grabbed her arm. "Please? At least wait here for Riku."

"Sora, I—"

"Hey, guys! What'd you think?"

They suddenly found Meena—and Riku—standing next to them, the tall girl from the stage also with them.

"Oh! Meena!" Kairi smiled. "I loved your dance."

Meena beamed at her. "Thanks. I can teach you to glowstring sometime, if you'd like."

"Really?" Kairi's mood had changed entirely—she was back to her usual optimistic self, and Sora was glad.

"Who's this?" he asked, indicating the girl standing behind Riku and Meena.

"This is Kanya."

Kanya gave a shy smile, nodding slightly, brushing her silvery hair behind her shoulders.

"She's my sister," Meena added, grabbing Kanya's arm. "See the resemblance?"

Actually, they looked nothing alike, Meena short with a round face and blue hair, Kanya tall and lanky with silver hair. Kanya looked embarrassed, and edged away from her sister, exiting through a door a few feet away marked "employees only."

"She's shy," Meena said, affirming their thoughts. "Oh, the others up on the stage with me are my brothers. "Mara and Rika."

"Aren't those a bit feminine for two guys?" Kairi asked, laughing nervously as she hoped she didn't offend Meena.

Meena, however, laughed. "They're nicknames. People'd have a time trying to pronounce most of our real names."

* * *

Backstage, Kanya cursed her shyness quietly, hoping that he hadn't seen her mess up. 

"Kanya, didn't we all agree we'd not mess up this time?"

The silver-haired girl swallowed, turning to see her sister behind her. "I…" she began, trailing off when she realized she didn't have an excuse.

The older girl shook her head. "You're out of the game, Kanya. I hope you learn from this. Unfortunately for you, there won't be a next time to redeem yourself."

"No!" Kanya cried, music in the other room drowning out her cry. "Please! Don't tell him I screwed up—!"

"Just a day into the plans and you're already screwing up? We can't have it." She gave a cruel smile before snapping her fingers, a shadow engulfing Kanya and swallowing her into the darkness, leaving no trace of the teen behind. Behind her, she heard footsteps.

"Where's Kanya?"

It was Mita—always the suspicious one. Paranoid, almost.

"She's lost the game, Mita. You know what happens when you screw up."

Mita narrowed her eyes. "You're very cruel. I…" she closed her mouth, wishing to say more but also wishing to conceal her true plans. _I hope I'm the one there to see _you_ screw up._ Instead, she turned and walked away, shaking her head.

The older girl smirked at Mita's retreating form, turning to see Ahjit standing beside her—she hadn't heard him approach.

"Is Kanya already gone?"

She nodded. "She was weak."

He sighed, shaking his head. "She was loyal, but her negative qualities outweighed her good."

"I'm afraid so."

"Eleven still remain. Do take care to see you're not eliminated as well." He disappeared into the shadows, leaving Lana alone again. She smiled in the darkness.

"Believe me. I won't be."

* * *

Any suggestions from you all? I'm very open and will accept pretty much anything. 

And remember...the review button is your friend. ;3


	3. Chapter 3

DATE: 12-11-07

Hey, guys…sorry I've been…distracted…and haven't gotten to updating this recently. ;; I'm hoping that this chapter is okay…and I promise it'll get better as time goes on. I'm not really happy with the first chapter myself…does anyone else think I should cut out the part with the…erm…"mysterious people" in the beginning? Tell me 'cuz I kinda want to change it but if others like it I'll leave it. D:

So for the first part of the story we get to see from Kairi's perspective. :D I don't do that much…but I'll be switching POVs a bit to see things from others' views. Just to mix it up a bit. ;D

Oh. You'll see relationships develop in here a bit and there's one catch: you know how Meena mentioned Mita being her sister? That's kinda a lie. That whole group calls each other "brother" and "sister" but there isn't really any blood relation between them. So no incest for you. ;P

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

(Remember, it's in Kairi's POV)

The summer passed by as fast as our times in other worlds had—to fast for us to really take in our freedom and cherish the memories with our friends. As soon as I saw the sun set on that Sunday evening, hanging out at Sunset Hill with Sora and Riku, I realized suddenly that we were no longer free: School started tomorrow.

I groaned. "Sora, please tell me you finished the rest of your work."

"Of course I did, Kairi. Don't worry." He flashed a smile at me, confident—I hoped he had actually done it and wasn't lying to me.

Riku smiled as well, laughing, though for a different reason, knowing he didn't have to start his classes for another month and a half.

Lucky.

"I was just worried—you spent so much time at the club this summer I was afraid you wouldn't finish anything." I looked up: the stars were beginning to fade into the sky, barely visible in the dusky evening but intensified as time went on.

"Speaking of clubs, want to come with us tonight?"

Sighing, I turned away. I'd been trying to avoid this topic as much as I could—I still didn't see what the appeal of that place was. Sure, I liked dancing, but not in such a crowed place as that was. Sora and Riku, however, loved the place. They had spent most of their summer there, working during the day and dancing in the night. Riku had managed to get Meena to let us in straightaway, like celebrities.

Anyway, it was the last night of the summer, and, truth be told, I had little else to do and wanted to have fun. "Sure," I said, finally complying to their wishes to take me with them.

Sora grinned. "We'll have a great time tonight, Kairi. Don't worry."

Something in his voice made me shiver slightly. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt nervous.

Riku looked at his watch. "It's almost time to head over to the club. It'll take us a while to get back there, since everyone's getting off work now and the trains will be crowded."

"We've got plenty of time," Sora said, standing up. He began to head to the station. "C'mon."

* * *

Inside the club, I felt the air cool a significant level compared to outside. I shivered again, wishing I had brought a jacket.

"After you dance some, Kairi, you'll be warm. I promise. No one's dancing over here, so it's cooler." I looked to see who had spoken to me. I saw Meena suddenly standing beside me, swaying slightly to the beat. "Come over here and join the dancing."

"Hey, Meena. Got some glowsticks for us?" Riku held out his hand expectantly.

She laughed. "Not if you keep demanding them from me like that." Riku hesitated slightly, making Meena laugh even harder. "I'm kidding. Here." She snapped a pair of glowsticks, handing them to Riku, who shook them, the glow intensifying in the dark room. She handed another two to him, allowing him to make crosses in his hands, the glowing colors mixing slightly. Another pair passed to Sora, who seemed a little more reluctant and new to the idea. A fourth set was handed to me, though I had no idea what to do with them.

"Just do whatever you want, Kairi," Meena said kindly, pulling her own off the chains on her pants and beginning to dance. The way she danced—it was so smooth, so fluid. How could I ever dance like that?

But when I started moving, I realized that it wasn't so hard. My hips gyrated to the electronic beat continuously pulsing from the speakers surrounding us, dancing like I never knew I could. My arms moved subconsciously, and soon I realized Sora's eyes were on me, watching instead of dancing. I blushed slightly and stopped, suddenly self-conscious of my actions.

"I…can't do this," I said, handing the glowsticks back to Meena. She frowned.

"Don't say that. You can do anything you want in here. Anything that happens here—" she spun around, arms outstretched to indicate the club "—stays here." She pointed down, again meaning the club. Everything that happened in the club stayed within its black walls. Somehow I wasn't convinced. I shook my head again. Meena sighed.

"Do we hear someone saying they can't dance?" A new voice emanated from the crowd, another girl Meena's age stepping out, long silver hair twisted up into high pigtails. Her piercing grey eyes seemed to almost glow in the nearly-black lighting. "Anybody can dance."

"She's a great dancer, but she won't because she's self-conscious. I think it's because the glowsticks allow others to see her moving." Meena tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Would these work?" the girl asked, snapping a few glowstick-like rings off her pants, Sora and Riku just noticing how many she had on.

_She's like…a walking glowstick with that many on. How does she stand it?_

Meena quickly moved toward me and attached a pair to my belt loops, one on each, then another on each, and eventually making a chain from the front loops to the back, ten in all. I looked at them, wondering if they were supposed to make me feel any better—or to make me feel stupider. The last pair went on my wrists.

The girl who had joined us, however, looked exactly like she had when she came over: the number of glowsticks on her had seemingly stayed the same.

"Can I have some too?" Riku asked eagerly. The girl's face suddenly went stony, however, and she glared at him.

"You?" she asked, voice suddenly icy.

"Riku, you have to be nicer than this if you want to come here for free," Meena said, laughing nervously.

"Who is this?" I asked, Sora's voice overlying mine with the same question.

"This is Tula," Meena said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "She's my sister."

"Another one?"

Tula glared at Sora as well, who backed away, behind me.

"She…doesn't really like guys," Meena said in a low voice, so that only the three of us could hear.

I nodded understandably. I used to think guys were stupid, too, but my opinion of them lifted after Sora rescued me.

The silver-haired girl's glare intensified, directed at Sora, and she disappeared back into the crowd in an angry huff.

"Is she always like that?" Sora asked, moving out from behind me.

"Only when guys are around."

"She needs to lighten up," Riku said, looking out over the crowd to see where she had gone. The glow that surrounded her, however, had vanished. She had left, seemingly: disappeared into thin air. "Weird one, she is."

"Oh, are you guys excited about school tomorrow?" Meena said, changing the subject suddenly.

"Are you guys enrolled?"

"Some of us. There are a couple in college, so there will still be staff available for later hours for a while."

"What school?"

Meena told them, her response earning a groan from Sora.

"You mean we have to go to school with _her_?" he said, referring to Tula.

"Sora!" I said sharply, rapping his head with the back of my hand. "That wasn't nice."

"Sorry."

Surprisingly, Meena just waved her hand. "It's alright. We can't stand her half the time, either. She's usually so calm and placid, but when guys approach her—which happens too often, unfortunately—she becomes so different, like she's another person. She lies and gets very egotistical." She sighed.

"How will that work out when we have group projects, then?" Sora asked.

"I don't know. She's never done very well in school. She's creative, and does well in the arts, but in her normal classes she suddenly looses all that and just…doesn't care."

I frowned. Sounded a bit weird to me. This sounded like something I could handle. I didn't know the girl, true, but I wanted her to be able to see that there was more to life than guys and their stupidity. It had taken me a while, and I knew what she was going through. For some reason, I felt a need, an impulse, to talk with her, and somehow get her to change her mind.

"Where can I find her?" I asked, Meena looking at me with a startled expression.

"What?"

"Where'd Tula go?"

"In the back, probably," she said, nodding to the side of the stage where a door was marked, "Employees only." I disregarded the sign, heading through it and down a hallway, where I suddenly heard Tula's voice. She was talking with a man, struggling to remain in control.

"Yes, I realize what my job is. But you know I can't stand men!"

"Tula—"

"No. I won't say anything else. My mind is made up."

"You know I have something you want."

Tula was silent.

"You want it. I know you do."

"How do you know that? I can get along fine without it." Tula's voice wavered as she struggled to fight the emotion from rising in her voice.

"There is little chance you can. Do not play with me. Attempt to, and if you fail you won't need it anyway."

I began to back away slowly, feeling I was intruding on the conversation. I wasn't an eavesdropper, and never planned to be. Halfway down the hall, however, I tripped on a cord that seemingly raised itself from the ground, falling and making a rather loud noise, my cry echoing in the somewhat empty hallway.

Tula was immediately beside me to help me up. "What are you doing back here?"

I stood up, my legs shaky but otherwise unharmed. "I was looking for you. Meena said you're going to the same school as us tomorrow and I wanted to talk to you."

"I don't have time tonight," she said flatly, her voice nearing the same irritation level it did when she had spoken earlier. "I'll be glad to talk tomorrow, at lunch or something, but right now I have…business to attend to."

I nodded. Any opportunity to talk with her would be fine.

But…what I heard in the hallway, between Tula and that man…that worried me. I wanted to know what that was about. And I wasn't about to give it up now.

As I left the club I began to really wonder what it had been. The whole club idea had been sketchy to me in the first place, and this merely reinforced my thoughts. Sighing, I slipped into my sleep quickly, figures decked out in glowsticks filling my dreams.


End file.
